Tokyo, Nov. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party decided Monday to reprimand four of its Diet members, including former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, for abstaining from Friday’s parliamentary vote on a consumption tax cut bill. The four also included former LDP Election Strategy Committee chair Yuko Obuchi, former Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa and Hajime Funada, former chief of the now-defunct Economic Planning Agency. On Friday, the tax cut bill was approved by the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, with support from the LDP-Japan Innovation Party coalition, and sent to the Senate, the upper chamber. According to the LDP, it is the first time that a former prime minister has been disciplined under party rules. The LDP leadership determined that some form of punishment was necessary amid concerns within the party that dissenting votes could also emerge during deliberations in the Senate. Speaking to reporters at the Diet, Ishiba said he had “no choice but to accept the decision with the utmost seriousness.” The LDP leadership had imposed party discipline requiring its member lawmakers to support the bill and instructed them to remain in the chamber until voting was completed. The four submitted written explanations of the circumstances surrounding their abstentions. On Monday, LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki reported the disciplinary decision to other executives. Suzuki later told a news conference that the abstentions “could not be overlooked from the standpoint of party unity.” Under party rules, the secretary-general may impose disciplinary actions on LDP lawmakers, including a recommendation to comply with party rules, a reprimand, suspension from party posts and a recommendation to resign from Diet or government positions. A reprimand is the second-lightest disciplinary measure that can be imposed by the secretary-general. Speaking to reporters at the Diet on Monday, Ishiba explained that he opposed the bill because “the source of funding for the tax cut remains unclear.” The party leadership is particularly concerned about the impact of the dissent on the upcoming Upper House vote. Even with the support of two lawmakers from the Conservative Party of Japan, which plans to back the bill, the ruling coalition remains two seats short of a majority in the Senate. The coalition intends to step up efforts to secure support from independent lawmakers and some opposition party members. Still, if additional LDP lawmakers break ranks, prospects for the bill’s passage would become even more uncertain. Within the LDP, calls for disciplinary action had grown. One mid-ranking lawmaker said, “Failing to punish the abstainers could encourage further defections in the Senate.” A former cabinet minister argued that it was “problematic for a former prime minister to openly oppose the party’s policy line.” Former prime ministers had previously avoided punishment on the grounds of their contributions to the party. They include Junichiro Koizumi, who faced no disciplinary action after skipping a 2009 Lower House vote on legislation related to cash handouts. Yasuhiro Nakasone was also left unpunished, after voting for a candidate different from the party’s choice in a 1994 prime ministerial election in the Diet. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
